October 08, 2014

Science and secularism advocacy group the Center for Inquiry today heralded the decision by the Supreme Court not to hear appeals in seven cases regarding
same-sex marriages, covering the states of Virginia, Utah, Oklahoma, Indiana, and Wisconsin. In all those states, circuit court rulings requiring marriage
equality will now come into effect. Other states in those circuits will also be affected – Colorado announced shortly after the decision that it will issue
marriage licenses without discrimination across the state. This news was followed by the Ninth Circuit striking marriage bans in Nevada and Idaho, a
decision expected also to control challenges in Arizona, Alaska and Montana.

“Legal blockades to same-sex marriage, rooted in religious dogma and inapplicable to a modern, secular society, are collapsing all around the country,”
said Ronald A. Lindsay, president and CEO of CFI. “We offer our heartfelt congratulations to those who will be awarded their basic civil rights and the
freedom to marry by this decision.”

“While this is indeed great news and a major step forward for equality, we also recognize that too many states are still denying this basic right to their
citizens, still hampered by religious beliefs about marriage and sex,” Lindsay added. “We look forward to the day when the Supreme Court rules
affirmatively that all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation, possess the right to marry the partner they love.”

CFI has long been a vocal and active proponent of marriage equality and other issues affecting LGBT Americans, engaging in legal work and grassroots
advocacy on such issues as the overturning California’s Prop 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act, and the ending of the military’s discriminatory Don’t Ask
Don’t Tell policy.

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The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a nonprofit educational, advocacy, and research organization headquartered in Amherst, New York, with executive offices in Washington, D.C. It is also home to both the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Council for Secular Humanism. The mission of CFI is to foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values. CFI‘s web address is www.centerforinquiry.net.